Wet This Fire Dry
by Exquisiteliltart
Summary: Loose sequel to "Vanilla, Kinks & Trigger Points." Regina helps Emma relax with some new massage techniques. Also, a new evil is unleashed on Storybrooke.
1. Chapter 1

Emma hobbled over to her desk, and winced as she removed her heavy belt, lying her holster and gun on top. She gingerly sat down at her chair and stole a glance at the clock. The woman had been literally running across Storybrooke all morning following leads for the new evil that was wreaking havoc on the town.

Being the sheriff of a town with magic was not a challenge she was fully prepared for. The suspect was described by witnesses as an extremely fast moving anthropomorphic cookie. She had yet to catch a glimpse of the cookie, but she had witnessed the devastation that it had apparently caused over the past few days. An overturned car blocked the street and a tsunami of bubbles at the laundry mat short circuited all of the machines. The most recent report of crime came from the Tailor's shop, in which the shop owner came in to find all 500 spools of thread knotted together in a giant ball.

This was one tough cookie.

At least if Emma had been dealing with ghosts there is equipment that can be used to track and locate the menace, but what was a sheriff to do with a gun against a 4 inch tall perp that could outrun an Olympian? Was she supposed to send in a requisition request for a giant glass of milk to soak the deviant into soggy crumbles? Regina would never go for it.

Emma half-heartedly sipped her coffee, and stretched out her feet. She had to think of something, but there was no way to predict the frequency or time of when the crimes would occur. How could she possibly make a psychological profile for this thing? If only she knew what its motive was.

Her hand flew to her lower back which was sore from all the running. Her hamstrings felt tight and her calves and feet ached. The muscle pain kept her from concentrating so she sighed and cracked her neck. The phone rang and she rolled her eyes before answering, "Sheriff's department."

"The…cookie thing just attacked the ice cream parlor. Oh my god! No, oh no! Not the waffle cones!" The line clicked dead, and Emma stood up and strapped on her gun. She had to go start the investigation of the crime scene.

When she arrived on site, it looked like the store had been looted. The front window was shattered, the tables were tipped over, napkins and straws were strewn everywhere, and the giant fiberglass cone that decorated the lobby had been knocked over and cracked. Customers were milling about outside, some still eating their malts and shakes and chatting quietly amongst themselves.

The shop owner was sitting in a heap on the curb out front, sobbing over bits of broken waffle. Emma stepped through the window frame and looked around the store. The ice cream looked unharmed. Though the chocolate chips, sprinkles and nuts were ruined and soaking in a mess of chocolate fudge and caramel.

She stepped back out and shouted to the gathered crowd, "I'm going to need to speak to everyone who witnessed this. If you have any information, it could be helpful. We need to attack this thing from all sides."

Granny stepped forward and spoke in a hushed, pained whisper to Emma, "I think I know what it is…I may have accidentally created the monster."

Emma's brow furrowed, she pulled out her notebook and pen, "Tell me what you know."

"Well, a few nights ago, I made a fresh batch of gingerbread cookies for the diner. It was a special recipe. After I decorated them, I left them to cool on the tray. But when I came back in the morning one was missing."

Emma stopped writing and looked up, "Okay… like the gingerbread man? Like 'run, run as fast as you can'?"

"Yes! I had just assumed one of the morning cooks ate it, but...people have seen it. It's alive and it's fast… and it's evil." Granny shook her head in shame. "What have I done?"

"Sounds like you just baked a batch of cookies," Emma surmised as she put her notebook away. Her notes were pretty useless. She stuck her fingers through her belt loops and extended her back. It was really sore.

"What is going on here?" The familiar voice of none other than Regina popped Emma's empty thought bubble. She turned around to take in the sight of the always put together Mayor, who stood disapprovingly over shattered glass at the entrance of the ice cream parlor.

"Hey." Emma shifted her weight and Regina swiveled on her heels and stepped purposefully toward her.

"Sheriff Swan." Regina acknowledged her with a quick scan up the length of her body, sizing her up per usual. "I'll ask again. What is going on in my town?" She pursed her lips and bore her deep brown eyes directly into Emma's.

"This gingerbread cookie has been hitting local businesses all week. I've been working on catching him…it. Every time I turn around there is a new break in."

Regina noticed Emma shift her weight and massage her lower back, as she grimaced in pain.

"And you've been running all over town trying to catch this gingerbread man?" Regina asked skeptically.

"Yeah, I'm completely exhausted. You know this town doesn't have the budget or research for all these magic creature villain things. We're still working on cleaning up after the flying monkeys shit from the skies over everything."

Regina made a face, and turned back to the ice cream parlor eyeing the damage. She liked her city maintained and in order, "I have a book… a sort of lexicon of nursery rhymes that might have information on the origins of this Gingerbread Man."

Emma nodded in approval, "Anything helps. So what are you doing here anyway?" She thought better of the question when Regina eyed her incredulously.

"Once a week I meet Henry for lunch at school and we enjoy a walk and waffle cone. You would know this if you kept better track of our son's schedule," Regina pushed past Emma and headed without hesitation into the shop.

The Sheriff jogged to catch up to her and landed a hand on her shoulder, "Whoa, what are you doing? This is a crime scene and there is an ongoing investigation."

Regina shrugged her hand away, "A little petulance is not going to disrupt my plans with Henry. I'm going to get him his treat, so help me."

If there was one thing Emma knew, it was that it wasn't worth arguing with Regina when she was in 'Henry' mode. She stepped aside and let her dish up some ice cream. Emma had bigger worries than crime scene disruption. Especially, this crime scene; like was she supposed to get tiny fingerprints to dust or DNA to run through the lab on a gingerbread man?

"Meet me at my place tonight, and don't be late," Regina smirked as she tossed her shiny hair over her shoulder and carried two bowls of ice cream in the direction of the school.

"Wait, you didn't say what time!"

The mayor flitted away without reply.


	2. Chapter 2

6:13 pm and there she was. Emma knocked at Regina's door, decidedly early or decidedly late. She wasn't sure, but she was desperate enough to play by Regina's rules in attempt to catch the creature before someone got hurt.

The brunette opened the door swiftly and offered a curt smile, "Ah, Emma."

"I'm here, so what have you got?" She stepped over the threshold and up the stairs into the foyer. Emma noticed Regina's house smelled peculiar like something that reminded her of Christmas.

"Follow me," Regina swept past and headed to the study. The fire was lit and a tray with a teapot and two china cups sat on the coffee table amongst several open books.

Emma gingerly took a seat, her quads were even sorer than earlier. She kept her hands together between her knees, and perched on the edge of the sofa. She never felt entirely comfortable in Regina's sanctuary.

"Relax, dear. Have some tea. I'd think you'd be pleased that I've been doing your work for you," Regina smoothed her skirt and sat down right beside her: back straight and posture impeccable. The Sheriff watched her pour the tea carefully, and then she saw a small tray of cookies. Regina noticed, though Emma didn't know how because her eyes never left the cup she was pouring steaming tea into.

"I experimented with some gingerbread recipes. You're welcome to try one as I know how you enjoy your sweets."

"Not hungry," Emma intoned, though she was appreciative of the gesture, she didn't see how baking a new batch of gingerbread cookies was entirely smart. What if those cookies came alive too and it turned into full blown Gremlins?

Regina reached over Emma and lifted a heavy book off of the table, plopping it half in the other woman's lap and half in her own. She inched closer so she could point to the diagrams and phrases on the page. "You see, ginger is traditionally a root that produces a fragrant spice that can be used in any number of recipes and…" Regina rolled her eyes upon hearing Emma hum in thought. The origins of ginger were irrelevant anyway.

"Okay, but why is the cookie that Granny made trying to destroy everything?" Emma flipped through the pages of the book reading the short nursery tale of the gingerbread man. "I mean basically he doesn't want to be eaten, so that's why he's running, but then he gets eaten anyway because he trusts a fox. I mean really, it's dumb."

"Is it dumb that the tailor is going to behind on orders for weeks, or that the ice cream parlor incurred $6,000 in damages this afternoon?" Regina pursed her lips and blinked at Emma.

"No, I'm serious about stopping the cookie monster, but I don't see how any of this helps."

"Perhaps it is important so that you have some basic foundation before you go running all over town. You have to outwit a gingerbread man, you can't outrun him. Furthermore, this is not the cookie monster that we're dealing with. The cookie monster is blue and _eats_ cookies."

"Please don't tell me that Storybrooke actually has Sesame Street hidden somewhere with Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch and that you cursed them all here too…"

"No, Ms. Swan, don't be preposterous. Henry was quite fond of the program when he was small. I allowed him to watch it because it was educational," Regina slammed the book shut, and stood up as if she expected Emma to take her leave.

But the Sheriff wasn't moving so fast, so she just sat back, and rolled her neck from side to side to work out the kinks. She frowned when it refused to pop.

Regina pursed her lips in contemplation before asking in an attempt to sound non-offending, "Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of being Sheriff and Henry?"

"Huh? Where is Henry?" Emma shook her head, as it occurred to her she hadn't seen her son when she arrived and he was supposed to be there.

"He's working on helping us, you'll be impressed, but it isn't ready yet. First, answer my question."

Sometimes she just could not stand Regina, and this was one of those moments, "I don't know, uh, Candy crush saga? It's kinda a hobby, more an addiction, I guess. Why do you care?"

Regina crossed the room, and leaned over sofa, coming ever so close to Emma, reaching once more for an open book, "You see, it's important to be well rounded, and we all have areas we excel at. It's imperative we foster our strengths and in the process build up our weaknesses. I, for one, have several old hobbies, and one new one."

"Destroying peoples' lives isn't really a hobby," Emma regretted the flippant comment the moment it left her lips, Regina's eyes darkened, but she didn't acknowledge the remark. Instead, she stayed standing behind the sofa, right over Emma's shoulders.

"I enjoy horticulture and alchemy- my gardens and potion making, and my new hobby is centered in the healing arts…" Regina trailed off, and softly stroked her palms over Emma's shoulders.

Emma felt a slight tingle in her trapezius, but she shook it off and tried not to squirm away, "Healing arts, you say?"

"Why not? Since I've been on the path to discovering all of the benefits and potential of light magic, a whole new perspective has come in my line of sight," Regina let a soft stream of light emanate from her finger tip; she ran it up the side of Emma's neck, where a particularly tight tendon was throbbing. The immense relief came immediately.

"Oh, God…what did you just do?" Emma murmured as her eyes fluttered shut. It was only one tendon, but she felt her jaw relax, and her head felt lighter and clearer.

Regina streamed her finger up the other side of her head with equally fantastic results. "I couldn't help but notice the tension in your body, and I've been eager to try out my techniques on someone in need. The Sheriff needs to be nimble and quick…"

"So I can jump over a candlestick?" Emma leaned in toward Regina's fabulous touch of light, as her fingers deftly swept up and down her neck, occasionally swirling through the waves of her hair, and then nearly whimpered when she took her hand away.

"Remember when you gave me that massage? That was unlike anything I'd ever experienced, and I've thought about it ever since," Regina turned her head in embarrassment. That whole event seemed like a lifetime ago, and so much had changed in their lives and in their relationship since.

But Emma remembered, and funny- she didn't think of it as the time she gave Regina a massage-she thought of it as the time they had crazy weird sex involving vanilla oil, but she didn't feel the need to vocalize that distinction. She was surprised to hear Regina mention it. She had come to terms with thinking this whole time Regina thought that it had been a huge mistake. She had acted so ashamed and angry afterwards.

Emma turned to face Regina. Their eyes locked in silent communication and understanding, igniting a spark of chemistry that had never had the good sense to stay buried.

The electronic beeping melody of Emma's cell punctured their moment, and Emma fumbled to answer it, "Sheriff's department… "

The voice on the other end of the line was frantic. Emma nodded before hanging up and putting down the phone. "That little bastard really knows how to put the icing on the cake. He just caused an explosion at the gas station."


End file.
